Rotary engine



Jan. 12 1926.

J. w. SHEPARD ROTARY ENGINE 5 Sheats-Sheec 1 Filed Sept. 7, 1922 nwmron ATTORNEYS Jan. 12 1926.

a sheets-sheet INVENTOR JlL shepm'a A FOR/V578 Jan. 12 192s.

J. W. SHEPARD ROTARY ENGINE Filed Sept. 7, 1922' 3 Sheets-Shut 3 WITNESSES mverinm M 1M I Jim Shepard Patented Jan. 12, 1926 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. 7

JOHN W. SHEPARD, OF TUCSON, ARIZONA.

ROTARY ENGINE.

Application filed September 7, 1922. Serial No 586,676;

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN W. SHEPARD, a citizen of the United States, and aresi dent of Tucson, in the county of Pima and State of Arizona, have invented a new and Improved Rotary Engine, of which the following is a 1111 clear, and exact descripefficiency and maximum utility of the ex= pans-ive action of steam between a stationary abutment and a rotor connected with the drive shaft.

As a further object the invention contemplates a rotary engine in which the torque is continuously applied to the drive shaft by the utilization of low pressure steampower in low pressure chambers after the same has been initiallyemployed in high pressure chambers. V

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a rotary engine in which the valve action is extremely simple and effective and acts automatically to properly time the opening and closing of the intake and exhaust ports and steam passages.

The invention further contemplates a rotary engine which employs a minimum of lworking parts which renders the same inexpensive to manufacture and to assemble and disassemble for repairs or replacement of arts.

With the above recited and other objects in view, the invention resides in the novel construction set forth in the following specification, particularly pointed out in the appended claims and illustrated in the ac-' companying drawings, it being understood that the right is reserved to embodiments other than those actually illustrated herein to the full extent indicated by the general meaning of the terms in which the claims are ex ressed.

In t e drawings Figure ,1 is a transverse sectional view through an engine constructed in accordance with the invention, the same being.

taken approximately on the line indicated at 11 of Fig. 2. i

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view therethrough taken approximately on the line indicated at 22- of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation taken ap proximately on the line 3--3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view taken. approximately on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary vertical trans verse sectional view taken approximately on the line indicated at 5--5 of 4.

Referring to the drawings by characters of reference, the engine includes a casing or stator 10 which preferably consists of a pair of transversely divided sections 11 and 12, each of which sections consists of a cylindrical wall 13 and a cylinder head 14 at the outer end. The open inner ends are flanged as at 15 and have passed therethrough securing elements or bolts 16. The cylindrical walls are provided with complementary annular-recesses 17. Each of the cylinder heads 14 is provided with a tubular bearing boss 18 from which supporting standards 19 depend and connect with the base 20. A circular rotor 21 conforming substantially to the internal diameter of the casing is arranged within the same and is secured to a drive shaft 22 which extends through the rotor and the bearing bosses 18 for rotatably mounting the rotor and drive shaft. Any desired form of drive pulley 23 is secured to one of the protruding extremities of the drive shaft for transmitting the power. The outer periphery of the rotor defines together with the complementaryrecesses 17 an initial steam receiving chest 24 which communicates with a steam supply pi e 25 through an intake port 26 in one of t e cylindrical walls 13. The rotor is provided ineach of its opposite sides or ends with a pair of substantially semi circular grooves 27 and 28, which define together with the cylinder heads 14 high pressure chambers 29 and low pressure chambers 30 disposed on opposite sides of the rotor. The grooves 27 are separated by web's 31 which constitute ill (ill

piston heads while the grooves 28 are sep mated by webs which likewise constitute piston heads and serve to divide and deline the pairs of high and low pressure chauu bers into individual compartn'ients. Bypasses 33 establish communication between the high and low pressure chambers 99 and and each of said ivy-passes is intersected by a valve eluimber 254- in which a piston like valve 35 is mounted for movement in opposite directions tor respectively closing or opening the bypass. Foch valve is pro vided with a radially projecting valve stem 36 which extends through an opening 37 in the rotor. (loil springs 38 are arranged in the valve chambers at the inner side of the valve 35 for normally effecting the outward movement of the valves and valve stems to etlcct the closure of the bypasses. A. pivoted valve actuating element 39 engages the outer end of each valve stem 36 and said valve actuating element is engage able with circinnterentially spaced cams or ribs at) formed on the inner periphery of the cylindrical walls 13 ol. the casing. Each of the high pressure chambers is provided with an intake port ell. which is norn'rally closed by a pivoted liap valve -1-2 having an actuating arm 43. The actuating arm i of each flap valve is engageable with circiuir lercutially spaced cams or ribs ll; on the inner peripheiw ot' the cylindrical wall 13 of the casing, said cam or rib 41 i being spaced laterally with respect to the cam or rib 40 which is preferably located at the transverse center thereof. The rotor is provided on its outer periphery with pitching rings 4-5 which engage the inner periphery of each evlindrical wall if, on opposite sides of the steam chest. The rotor is further provided with packing rings ill on the opposite ends or sides thereof immediately inside of the grooves i3? and 99 which define the high and low pressure chambers 29 and il Each cylinder head is provided with a pair of initwarrflly projecting bosses constituting housings 4-? within which abutment plates ll; are mounted for sliding movement. The abutment plates are provided with longi tudinal guide openings 41-9 into which guide rods extend said guide rods being carried by the cover plates 51 for the housings 47. The inner end of each abutment plate 48 is normally forced into the grooves 27 and 28 by means of springs 52. The abutment plates carried by each cylinder head are located at diametrically opposite points and the abutment plates for the lowiuressure chambers are disposed eircumt'erentially opposite to the abutment plates of the high pressure chambers] The webs 81 and 32 con stituting the piston heads are provided with outwardly inclined leading faces, while the abutment plates are provided with complementary inclined faces 54 which coact upon rotation of the rotor to effect an outward sliding IIIOVEITIBIliJ of the abutmei'it plate to permit of the passage of the webs or piston heads 31. .Pre erably each web is pro vided with a packing strip to prevent leakage between the cl'iambers.

In operation live steam is constantly sup plied to the steam receiving ches iron: the rupply pi through the intalte port lit; and the t-littllli enters the high pressure ehainl'iers QEJ through the intake ports ll when the liap valves -ii'l are opened by the contact oi the actuating arms 4:3 with the cams ll. is the steam enters the high pres sure chaml it cx iiands between the abutment plates 49 and the webs or piston heads 31 to rll'ect the rotation oi the rotor in one direction. its the rotor continues to rotate, under the expansive action of the steam the actuating arms l-3 disengage themselves or run oil of the cams or ribs -l-l- 'iermittiiur the flap valves to close and cut oil the supply of steam to the high pressure chambers. Following the cutting oil of the supply steam to the high pressure chambers, the valve actuating elements till will come into engagement with the ribs or cams it] cllwl ing inward movement of the valves iii against the action of their springs 38 to open the l'iy-passes 33, thereby permitting the steam from the high pressure ehamhera 29 to enter the low pressure cluimbersv So where they will act against the inner ends of the altiutinent plates ll) thereof to produ e a Further expansive action against the piston heads or ribs 32 of the low pron-sure chan'iherst. The continued rotation oi the rotor will bring the into actuating arms engagement; with the succeci'ling ribs or cums 44, thus reopening the flap valve-i fit! to admit ot the intake of high pressure steam from the steam chest into the high pressure cha I1ll)(.]5-. Following the intake nl the steam to the high pressure chambm's. the valve actuating elements 3?) of the llu'thest advanced by-passes 33 will be cut oil prior to the passage oi the iijf-{JZJSSQ'F-i beyond the abutment plates 41-?) in the high presF-au'o chambers. while the -[Following ivy-passes 533 will remain opened to allow of the :iiurther expansion in the low pressure chambers. The leading face of the low pressure piston heads will next effect the exhaust oi the steam in the low pressure chambers through the exhaust ports 56 formed in the cylinder head ll located at the some side with the low pressure chambers, said exhaust port Fill ctm'in'umicating with exhaust pipes 537.

From the 'loregoing it will be seen that an extremely simple and inexpensive rotary steam engine has been provided in which a maximum utility of the expansive action of the steam accol'uplished b v successively ivy-parsing the high pressure steam tron: high pressure chambers into low pressure Ian chambers whereby the full expansive action is obtained. The high and low pressure er;- pansive action in the respective high and low pressure chambers overlap in order to exert a continuous torque on the drive shaft, thus eliminating dead centers as is the case with reciprocating or internal combustion engines. The valve actions are extremely simpleand automatic in their operation, the same being operable upon rotation of the rotor without the necessity of employing added cam shafts and valve lifters as is customary in the reciprocating and internal combustion type of engines.

I claim 1. A rotary engine comprising a stator having an annular steam chest, a rotor in the stator and forming the inner wall of the steam chest, one side of said rotor being formed inwardly of the periphery of the rotor with an annular groove defining a high pressure chamber, the other side of the rotor being formed inwardly of the periphery of the rotor with an annular groove of a greater volume than said first named groove, and forming a low pressure chamher, there being transverse openings in the rotor for establishing communication be tween the high and low pressure chambers, spring actuated valves for normally closing said transverse openings, cams carried by the stator for periodically unseating said valves and thereby periodically establishing communication between the oppositely located high and low pressure chambers.

2. A rotary engine comprising a stator having an annular steam chest, a rotor in the stator and forming the inner wall of the steam chest, one side of said rotor being formed inwardly of the periphery of the rotor with an annular groove defining a high pressure chamber, the other side of the rotor being formed inwardly of the periphery of the rotor with an annular groove of a greater volume than said first named groove and forming a low pressure chamber, there being transverse openings in the rotor for establishing communication between the high and low pressure chambers, spring actuated valves for normally closing said transverse openings, cams carried by the stator for periodically unseating said valves and thereby periodically establishing communication between the oppositely located high and low pressure chambers, abutments carried by said stator and extending into the high and low pres sure chambers, and means whereby to move said abutments out of the path of travel of the rotor at intervals.

3. A rotary steam engine comprising a closed casing embodying a cylindrical wall having an internal peripheral recess, heads closing the opposite ends of the cylindrical wall, a rotor mounted within said casing a steanr chest having an intake coininuni eating with a source of steam supply, the

opposite sides of the rotor each having a pair of semicircular grooves die ning to gether with the cyithidri'cal heads a pair of high and low pressure cylinders located respectively at opposite sides of the rotor and having by-passes extending therebctween, controlling valves for said by-passes, said rotor having intake ports extending between the high pressure chambers and the steam chest, valves for controlling said intake ports, said casing having exhaust ports located in the cylinder heads at the same side with the low pressure chambers, abutments carried by the cylinder heads and extending into the high and low pressure chambers, and means operable upon rotation of the rotor for successively actuating the valved intake and by-pass ports to effect the initial introduction of live steam to the high pressure chambers, the subsequent passage of the same from the high pressure to the low pressure chambers, and the final escape of the same from the low pressure chambers through the exhaust ports.

4:. A rotary engine including a casing having intake and exhaust ports, a drive shaft extending through the casing, a rotor secured to the drive shaft and having concentric annular grooves in the opposite sides thereof, webs located at diametrically opposite points in each groove, abutments carried by the casing and extending into the grooves, means for normally effecting the projection of the abutments into the grooves and for permitting of the retraction of the same therefrom by the contact of the webs therewith, said grooves, the casing, the webs and abutments defining a pair of chambers in each side of the rotor, means ope able upon rotation of the rotor for successively feeding an expansive fluid into the chambers of one side, by-passing the fluid to the chambers on the opposite side, and exhausting the fluid from said latter chambers whereby-to produce a continuous torque on the drive shaft.

5. A rotary engine including a casing having intake and exhaust ports, a drive shaft extending through the casing, a rotor secured to the drive shaft and having concentric annular grooves in the opposite sides thereof, webs located at diametrically op posite points in each groove, abutments carried by the casing and extending into the grooves, means for normally effecting the projection of the abutments into the grooves and for permitting of the retraction of the same therefrom by the contact of the webs therewith, said grooves, the casing, the webs and abutments defining a pair of chambers in each side of the rotor, the chambers of one side of the rotor having intake ports able upon rotation of the rotor for by-passing the fluid to the opposite chambers and for permitting of the exhaust of the fluid 10 from said latte]: chambers at predetermined periods in the cycle of rotation of the rotor.

JOHN W. SHEPARD. 

